January 1st 2021 was a literal reset for JESSIA, when she posted a little snippet of a melody on TikTok that had viewers hooked. Within 72 hours, she’d polished it into an entire single and released the anthemic “I’m Not Pretty”, which went on to inspire a viral trend on the platform.

It’s been less than a year since this pivotal moment and JESSIA has already signed to a major label thanks to the backing of OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, she’s performed for Liam Payne’s “Here’s To The Future” showcase and just released her debut EP How Are You?

The title track details her checking in when you’re feeling lost – an action she believes is “one of the most important things that you can do in life”.

“I mean, kinda hit my rock bottom and in 2019,” she said. “And just like questioning whether I want to pursue music and having heartbreak and moving to a new city and all of these different things. And also just being in quarantine, you spend a lot of time with yourself. You, you get to know yourself very, very well, and you get to see all of like the things that aren’t so pretty and it’s not pretty.”

That reevaluation set her on the path to scoring DMs from Ryan Tedder who helped her with her first record deal.

“The thing that really stood out to me was like, just having him in person is the fact that like he is just so in tune with where the music industry is heading and what the music industry is now. And he gave me a lot of perspective on like how to navigate that as a new artist,” she said of his mentorship.

Her upwards trajectory has no hint of slowing down as she gears up for her debut album after this release. In the meantime, fans are treated to a collection of personal reflections tied up in a pop package in How Are You? – the perfect introduction to JESSIA.

Watch our full chat below:

How Are You? is OUT NOW

Stay up to date with JESSIA on her Instagram, Spotify and TikTok.

This article was originally published by The AU Review.

Interview: JESSIA